The present invention relates to appliances, appliance panels and methods of construction of appliance panels.
Domestic and commercial appliances, such as refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, dishwashers, ovens, stoves, ice makers, water dispenser, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, etc., typically are formed with an outer cabinet made from panels, wherein each panel may comprise one or more sides of the appliance, or less than a full side. The cabinets also generally contain doors or other movable panels that may comprise the same or different material than that of the remainder of the appliance. Typically the panels of the appliances are provided in a variety of appearances, such as wood covered, painted metal or unpainted metal, such as stainless steel.
An advantage of certain metal panels is that the material of the panel is magentizable such that magnets will adhere to the panel, allowing the user to removably attach papers and other light materials to the appliance, without defacing the panel surface. Stainless steel, however, is not magnetizable, and thus those cabinet panels formed of stainless steel do not permit the attachment of magnets. Further, stainless steel, although highly durable, is a relatively expensive material, in comparison for example, with rolled steel which is generally used in the formation of many painted metal appliance panels.
Therefore it would be an improvement in the art if there were provided an appliance panel formed of a magnetizable material that had the appearance of stainless steel. It would also be an improvement in the art if there were provided an appliance panel formed of a material that had the appearance of stainless steel, and the durability of stainless steel, yet had a lower cost than stainless steel.